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Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion (2014)
Familiar faces help the series settle in and build a place in the Star Wars Universe
Now that all the introductions are out of the way, we are going to settle into this series and start to get some character development and just start to get a good feel for the crew. First thing you need to know about this one, pertains to the name of the episode and the two big Guest Stars that play a significant role in the story. At this point, I don't think you can release anything Star Wars related to the screen, without these two showing up somehow. Yup, you guessed it. R2-D2 and C-3PO. And they even got Anthony Daniels to do the voice of Threepio. How cool is that! Threepio even has the silver leg, already. But, Artoo and Threepio are not alone, we get a couple more familiar faces. Bail Organa makes a very interesting cameo that should not be missed.
And the most unexpected cameo comes from RX-24. Now this is a rather clever cameo that I must explain, since I'm sure that name doesn't ring any bells for most (If it does, score big points for you and your Star Wars knowledge). RX-24 is actually the droid pilot of the transport ship you fly on when you go on Star Tours at Disneyland. He is the voice of the ride, and is an actual live action animatronic character in the passenger area, at the front, "piloting" the ship, and talking to the group as he takes them on a crazy ride through Star Wars space battles and such. Growing up in Los Angeles beach areas, I have taken passage on his flight many, many times and he was a very memorable character. What really makes this noteworthy is that RX is voiced by Paul Reubens on the ride, and of course he also voiced him on the show. All these guest voices by the original actors make me think of that line from Jurassic Park, "We spared no expense!"
This episode picks up with the Ghost crew getting used to their new member. Also, they are low on supplies and need to take on some shady work they would normally have avoided, but times are tough all around these days. This of course brings them in contact with the droids, which leads to the type of messes Artoo and Threepio always seem to be involved in, with Threepio acting as ignorant to everything as ever. The Ghost crew works rather well in this episode, and Zeb gets a lot of character and race- background development. And of course, Ezra gets a "moment." About my only real disappointment, is the lack of any strong individual characters on the antagonist side of things other than Stormtroopers and forgettable officers. I know they are going to build to The Inquisitor, but where are some of the Grand Moff's like Tarkin, who was featured in quite a few of the latter episodes of Clone Wars. But, overall, I'm enjoying what I'm seeing.
Star Wars Rebels: Droids in Distress (2014)
Not every episode has to be about the fate of the universe to still be a great episode.
This was a great episode, and it did not have to do with the overall idea of stopping the empire. This was an episode about a simple supplies run or, to make it sound even simpler, grocery shopping. And the two stars of the episode are Ezra and Zeb. It would seem the crew of the Ghost are in need of food and supplies, and having been cooped up together for a little while now, Ezra and Zeb's constant bickering (usually with Chopper somehow instigating them) is getting on Hera's nerves. So when they set down, planet side, the two idiots get stuck with the job of grocery/supply shopping. And, to punish them a little, Hera decides to give them the impossible task of bringing back a certain fruit she craves, a "meiloorun", which just happens to not grow on this particular planet.
Let's talk about Ezra and Zeb at this point. These two were just great in this episode. Their relationship has grown into one of those where Zeb, being the veteran, is always hard on the new guy, but Ezra's cockiness, and the fact that he saved Zeb's life at the beginning, makes him feel like he has gotten one-up on Zeb. Which, of course, he annoyingly feels the need to remind Zeb of, pretty much every chance he gets. Basically, these guys are acting like any two guys that really want to be best friends but don't want to admit it. Chopper pulling stunts on both of them to get them PO'd at each other definitely is not helping the matter.
Now of course, these two are also the type that when you send them out to do the simplest things, it always seems to turn into the end of the world. They might get the job done, but of course, it is in the worst way possible and usually involves levels of danger that shouldn't have even enter the picture, much less even been considered. And usually, they swear it's not their fault, but yet they are the only ones that tend to get into these sorts of messes for such simple tasks time and again. In the case of Ezra, Zeb and the unobtainable fruit, they end up stealing a TIE fighter! And that's just the tip of the iceberg for these two.
What I really loved about this episode, was because it was a smaller story, you really got to notice the detail of all the Original Trilogy elements going on in the show. I felt really nostalgic watching this episode, and it wasn't because of guest voices, or major characters from the movies. It was because it really felt like Star Wars again. Zeb and Ezra, flying around in a TIE fighter, Stormtrooper acting like foul able stormtroopers, the oppressive Imperial Officers, all on some backwater planet just felt right. They even used the prisoner/troop transporter vehicle I had as a kid, but barely got to see in the movies, in a great action sequence. It took a little warming up, like most shows, but at this point, I think they are on the right path. They are doing some great character development at this point, and this episode is really good proof of that. Since they are using a brand new cast of character, episodes like this can really make or break the show at times. It is a good sign that they seem to have a handle on making these characters feel like they fit in an era of Star Wars that fans have a lot of expectations for.
Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion (2014)
Familiar faces help the series settle in and build a place in the Star Wars Universe
Now that all the introductions are out of the way, we are going to settle into this series and start to get some character development and just start to get a good feel for the crew. First thing you need to know about this one, pertains to the name of the episode and the two big Guest Stars that play a significant role in the story. At this point, I don't think you can release anything Star Wars related to the screen, without these two showing up somehow. Yup, you guessed it. R2-D2 and C-3PO. And they even got Anthony Daniels to do the voice of Threepio. How cool is that! Threepio even has the silver leg, already. But, Artoo and Threepio are not alone, we get a couple more familiar faces. Bail Organa makes a very interesting cameo that should not be missed.
And the most unexpected cameo comes from RX-24. Now this is a rather clever cameo that I must explain, since I'm sure that name doesn't ring any bells for most (If it does, score big points for you and your Star Wars knowledge). RX-24 is actually the droid pilot of the transport ship you fly on when you go on Star Tours at Disneyland. He is the voice of the ride, and is an actual live action animatronic character in the passenger area, at the front, "piloting" the ship, and talking to the group as he takes them on a crazy ride through Star Wars space battles and such. Growing up in Los Angeles beach areas, I have taken passage on his flight many, many times and he was a very memorable character. What really makes this noteworthy is that RX is voiced by Paul Reubens on the ride, and of course he also voiced him on the show. All these guest voices by the original actors make me think of that line from Jurassic Park, "We spared no expense!"
This episode picks up with the Ghost crew getting used to their new member. Also, they are low on supplies and need to take on some shady work they would normally have avoided, but times are tough all around these days. This of course brings them in contact with the droids, which leads to the type of messes Artoo and Threepio always seem to be involved in, with Threepio acting as ignorant to everything as ever. The Ghost crew works rather well in this episode, and Zeb gets a lot of character and race- background development. And of course, Ezra gets a "moment." About my only real disappointment, is the lack of any strong individual characters on the antagonist side of things other than Stormtroopers and forgettable officers. I know they are going to build to The Inquisitor, but where are some of the Grand Moff's like Tarkin, who was featured in quite a few of the latter episodes of Clone Wars. But, overall, I'm enjoying what I'm seeing.